“But there was one thing she mentioned that I hadn’t thought of. She asked if…” Crispina hesitated. It felt much too soon to bring this up. “She asked if you might adopt Max. One day. If he were to stay here.”
Aelius was silent, his face unreadable.
“I understand if you wouldn’t,” Crispina said hurriedly. “I’d never ask it of you, I know it’s a big—”
“I might,” Aelius said quietly.
Crispina stared at him. “Really?”
“One day, if his family doesn’t make themselves known, I might.” A tentative smile crept over his face. “I would have had nothing if my stepfather hadn’t adopted me. I wouldn’t have been able to run for office. A name is the greatest gift anyone has ever given me. If I could give that to someone else, why wouldn’t I?”
Her eyes prickled. “I…that’s…” She couldn’t summon the proper words to express the warmth that was suffusing her, a different kind of heat from her anger.
Aelius stepped toward her and clasped her shoulders, then drew her in to embrace her. His hand came up to cradle the back of her head, pressing her gently to his chest. “Of all the things I never expected from our marriage,” he murmured against her cheek, “a child was at the top of the list.”
Her throat tightened, and she was glad she could hide her face in his chest. She took a deep, shuddering breath to compose herself, then pulled back. “Time for lunch?”
He smiled down at her, and dipped his head to kiss her on the forehead. “Time for lunch.”
Chapter 21
Aelius’s words lingered in Crispina’s mind for the rest of the day.Of all the things I never expected from our marriage, a child was at the top of the list.Sitting next to him at dinner, while he tried to dissuade Max from tossing nuts into his goblet, she thought back to their first meeting, when she’d found him arrogant and thoughtless.
Now, he had somehow become her family. Even as they had grown closer over the past weeks, she’d still been keeping her distance, knowing their marriage would end. Aelius needed an heir, and until today, Crispina believed another woman would have to give that to him.
But nothing was certain anymore. If Aelius adopted Max, could she have a life with him?
She glanced over at her husband. He had given up trying to get Max to stop throwing nuts and now they were both trying to see if they could land a nut in Gaia’s goblet across the table. Gaia cast her eyes skyward and covered her goblet with a napkin.
Crispina could imagine no place she’d rather be, no people she’d rather be with. She wanted Aelius, wanted a life with him, wanted to be standing at his side when he won this election and all the ones to come, wanted to grow old with him. An image rose in her mind: ten years from now, Aelius being confirmed as consul before the senate, herself at his side as he achieved his great, improbable dream.
Her eyes moistened, and she turned her face quickly toward her plate. Gods, what was wrong with her?
She focused on Aelius once more, on his nimble fingers as he launched a nut across the table. She knew those hands almost better than her own these days. Another thought intruded, one wholly inappropriate for the dinner table. Perhaps Max’s arrival had inadvertently removed the last barrier between her and Aelius, the one thing she’d been holding back.
She reached for her wine, her throat suddenly parched. Yes, she wanted him…and tonight, maybe she would have him.
Aelius caught her staring at him and grinned at her. She returned the smile, suddenly wishing they were at a loud, crowded dinner party so she could lean over and whisper something enticing in his ear.
But Max and Gaia were their only companions, so she held back until the meal was finished, until she and Gaia put Max to bed, until she joined Aelius in their bedroom.
He reclined in bed, reading over a piece of papyrus.
“Reading anything good?” Crispina asked as she bent to take off her sandals.
“A list of influential patricians and notes on how to win over each of them. I already crossed off your father. I presume becoming his son-in-law is enough to gain the votes he controls.”
“What will you promise the others, since you can no longer sell yourself into marriage for a handful of votes?”
Aelius glanced over the list. “One man has shipping interests, so I would promise to support a bill mandating harsher penalties for smuggling. This other man wants to build a temple, Catullus tells me, seemingly out of piety but no doubt so his own name will be plastered all over it. He will need the plebeian assembly’s approval to consecrate the land. I can promise to help with that if elected.”
“The city doesn’t need another temple when the homes of its own citizens are crumbling,” Crispina muttered. She thought of the slum where she’d found Max, the dilapidated apartment blocks at constant risk of fire or collapse.
Aelius sighed. “Believe me, I know. But I need to ensure enough support to win the election. Unless you have a better idea?”
Crispina folded her arms as she thought, momentarily allowing herself to be distracted from her aim tonight. “What if there’s a compromise? Downgrade the temple to a shrine, and suggest the man use the remaining funds to rebuild areas of the city in disrepair. He would please the gods and the people at the same time.”
Aelius gave a slow, approving nod. “You’re right.”
